Herrinfesta Triathlon Recap and More

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Thanks for all the support and love of the Ironman Post. I’ve been reliving the whole day…what of it I can remember and I’m still amazed at what we can do.

This past weekend was Herrinfest. It’s the little town festival from my hometown. It’s so much fun going home and reconnecting with family and friends. To add to the fun, it was also my 20 year high school reunion. 20 years?! I thought back to high school days just to see if I could even visualize it and crazy enough I could. I can still smell the smell of the school in the summer (we had no air conditioning). I can still remember sitting on the ground in the front lobby eating lunch. I can remember a lot and I’ll be the first to tell you that while college will go down as my favorite period of time in school, high school was pretty good too.

So let’s start at the top…

Herrinfest for our family is all about Bocce, Family and a few rides sprinkled in. This year was no different. We get into town Friday, usually go try to watch my brother’s team play some bocce ball then off to the sponsor’s party. We love being surrounded by family and friends. The vibe is just right for a good time!

Group photo courtesy of Herrinfesta and Leigh Bodokis

Herrinfesta Triathlon Recap

Saturday morning I got up to do the Herrinfest Triathlon. It’s 400 yard, 14 mile bike and 3 mile run sprint distance triathlon. I’ve been doing it for years. The tri community is small in southern illinois but it’s tight. Everyone knows everyone so going to this race is just like an extension of the party that Herrinfesta is to me. Being only 6 days out from Ironman Chattanooga I thought I was feeling pretty good. I thought I was good and rested. Huh…

The swim was in the pool…400 yards. Serpentine swim. Self Seeding. But with only 65 participants, it’s pretty easy to do. The swim was fun. I was so happy to be swimming in a pool again. It is SO nice to be able to see the bottom of the body of water you’re swimming in. It’s so much easier to get in a groove. 7:48. That’s fine. I’m not in it today for time.

Photo courtesy of Herrinfesta and Leigh Bodokis

The bike course is a large loop out of Carterville, into colp, round to Herrin Road and back into Carterville. It’s a relatively flat course with a few sneaky hills. This is where I felt the least comfortable. My legs reminded me that maybe 6 days rest wasn’t enough. They felt heavy and I never felt like I could find my pace. Another reminder that I probably need to get re-fit on my bike. I found pockets of comfortable pace but it wasn’t fun. I only averaged 14.1 mph. Not cool.

Photo courtesy of Herrinfesta and Leigh Bodokis

The run is a horse shoe that’s really nice because most of it is shaded. The course was great but run itself was another reminder that 6 days rest wasn’t enough. I couldn’t get my heart rate down at all. I stayed in Zone 5 half of the race and the other half in zone 4. Not cool. But I finished and that’s all that mattered at this race.

The race coordinator is a friend of mine and he’s been battling cancer. Early on, I called and asked if I could help organize, volunteer, help in anyway. I didn’t love the idea of him tackling the orchestration of this race all by himself. He assured me he had plenty of support and made me promise to come race. That’s a promise I wasn’t about to break.

All in all, it was fun. I’m glad I did it and I’m glad it’s over. 🙂

The rest of the weekend was more family and friends. Saturday night I had my 20 year High school Reunion. 20 years sounds like a lot. I can’t possibly be old enough but turns out we are. And going to this reunion was something I wasn’t sure I was going to do but a last minute decision turned out to be the right one. So many great memories! Loved every minute of it!

The weekend wouldn’t be complete without attending mass. This was the church I grew up in so it’s basically just an extension of my family. Being surrounded by so much love is a feeling that can’t be replaced.

It’s weekends like this that make going back to work so hard. The first weekend of the summer never disappoints. Hopefully you had just as much fun as we did!